Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Wednesday, 17th April 2024.
InTheNews: The latest rail news on Wednesday, 17th April 2024
“Intensive” talks between Alstom, the Government and Transport for London with a view to placing a train order which will secure the future of the firm’s historic train-making plant in Derby have been successful, according to reports.
An article on The Business Desk says hopes were raised on Tuesday afternoon (April 16) that thousands of jobs at the factory and in the local supply chain could be saved after Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he had been locked in negotiations with Alstom Group CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge on the future of train manufacturing in the UK.
However, on Tuesday evening, The Telegraph quoted sources close to the talks which said that Harper has awarded a deal for 10 new trains to be built in Derby.
The new work will start in the first half of 2025 and cover an order drought before the Derby plant begins construction of a fleet of express trains for the HS2 line in mid-2026.
Steam enthusiasts are making a renewed bid to extend a railway and build a new station in Gwynedd. If successful, (Bala Lake Railway) anticipates annual passenger numbers will almost double to 60,000, giving a significant boost to the local economy.
An article on North Wales Live says the ambitious project was derailed in April 2023 amid concerns over its impact on river pollution – planners feared more passengers using toilets in the area, overloading local waste treatment plants. But the scheme is now back on track after the pollution situation was clarified by Welsh Water.
New data reveals assistance was requested on and off trains at LNER’s managed stations more than 250,000 times over the past year – the highest number to date.
Passenger Assist operates nationally, with train operators working to provide assistance at all points along a customer’s journey for anyone with a disability, non-visible impairment, mobility impairment or for older customers.
LNER says it is committed to providing assistance to anyone who requires it, whether they book the service in advance or upon arrival at one of its eleven managed stations, or at London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley stations.
Even small delays in Japan’s much-vaunted bullet trains are rare, and more unusual still are snakes on board holding up the speedy “shinkansen” services.
An article on the Mail Online says on Tuesday evening, a passenger alerted security to a 40-centimetre (nearly 16-inch) serpent lurking on a train between Nagoya and Tokyo, resulting in a 17-minute hold-up.
It was unclear whether the cold-blooded commuter was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers, a spokesman for Central Japan Railway Company told AFP
Shinkansen customers can bring small dogs, cats and other animals, including pigeons on board — but not snakes.
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